


ain't it good to know (you've got a friend)

by elmarienz



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Gen, and kath is good friend, davey is struggling, protect this friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 21:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11814303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elmarienz/pseuds/elmarienz
Summary: There’s no point in dancing with Katherine, no point in beating around the bush. “I can’t keep up,” he says quietly. “In school, I mean. I was so desperate to come back, I didn’t realize that maybe I’m just… just not cut out for it.”





	ain't it good to know (you've got a friend)

**Author's Note:**

> I just really love kath and davey's friendship and wish there was more content for them, so I tried my hand at writing some (and threw in a bit of newsbians because why not). title comes from carole king's 'you've got a friend.'  
>   
> EDIT: it pained me to take out the newsbians and rhubarb pie, but it had to be done to avoid that mess of a tone shift that the previous version of this fic had

David sighs. Rubs his temples with his knuckles. Feels the pressure build as they dig into his forehead. Winces. Sighs again. There’s a knock on his doorframe. He raises his head, and notices the wet blotches of running ink and water on his paper _(Tear drops, he knows. He doesn’t remember crying.)_ before he looks up from his desk. Katherine is standing in the doorway, concern evident on her face.  
  
“You look like a mess,” she states flatly, stepping inside.  
  
“Thanks,” he responds, his voice equally toneless.  
  
“I found a copy of that book you wanted.” She lifts up the thick book David didn’t realize she was holding. “Les Miserables, Victor Hugo?” He nods, and she walks over, dropping the thick hardcover onto the desk before taking a seat on the edge of his bed.  
  
“Okay, I gave you the book, now tell me what’s going on.”  
  
“What do you-“ Katherine gives him a look, almost daring him to finish the sentence. _(It’s the look of a reporter, of a girl with the persistence of a woodpecker when it comes to extracting information, of a friend whom Davey can’t ignore or lie to.)_  
  
There’s no point in dancing with Katherine, no point in beating around the bush. “I can’t keep up,” he says quietly. “In school, I mean. I was so desperate to come back, I didn’t realize that maybe I’m just… just not cut out for it.” He threads his fingers through his hair, and Katherine sits silently, waiting. When it becomes clear that Davey isn’t going to say anything else, she breaks the silence.  
  
“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard this week. And I’ve heard Jack’s headlines.”  
  
“I’m serious, Kath.”  
  
“So am I. What led you to the conclusion that you’re ‘not cut out’ for school?”  
  
“It’s like I told you,” he says, refusing to meet her eyes. “I can’t keep up with the work. The material is more complicated, and I never used to have much trouble focusing, but now _(Now his feet tap restlessly and his mind won’t stop wandering, as if both his legs and his head are longing for the movement of the cobbled city streets.)_ I can’t seem to concentrate and they look at me like I’m contagious and-“  
  
“Who?”  
  
Davey flushes. He didn’t mean to add that. “The boys at school. I don’t exactly have friends there.”  
  
Katherine purses her lips. “That’s no reason for you to give up on school. You’re better than that.”  
  
“Am I?” _(It’s a genuine question, because the brains that used to define him are churning with insecurity and marked out problems and jeering laughter and a million other things that answer ‘no.’)_  
  
She sighs, in a way that is both fond and exasperated. _(Patience has never been one of Katherine’s virtues, he knows.)_ “Davey. You were away from school for over a year, and you’ve been back for how long?”  
  
“Three weeks,” he mutters.  
  
“Exactly. You need time to figure it out again.”  
  
“But-“  
  
She cuts him off, picking the copy of Les Miserables off the desk and shoving it into his hands.  
  
“Listen. Anyone who would read this brick of a book for fun is more than cut out for an education.”  
  
Davey laughs, and the pounding in his head feels a bit softer as Katherine places her hand firmly on his shoulder. “You’ve got potential, David Jacobs. Give it a few years and you might even be as good as me.”  
  
They’re both laughing now. Tears mixed of pent up anxiety and overwhelming love for this brilliant girl that he is allowed to call his friend form in his eyes, and he pulls her in for a tight hug. _(He never used to be comfortable with hugs, but now his chin rests on her shoulder and it feels safe.)_  
  
“Will you stay for dinner?”  
  
“I don’t want to impose, I feel guilty about taking your family’s food when-“  
  
Davey pulls away from the hug, looking Katherine in the eye. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “It’s compensation for dealing with me when I get like this.”   
  
Katherine shakes her head, but she’s smiling. “Alright,” she says, “but only if your parents agree.”  
  
“My folks love you, Kath. They’ve been asking when you’re coming ‘round for dinner again for ages.”  
  
“I’ll stay, then. But Davey?”   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
“Would you promise me something? _(Davey never breaks his promises.)_ If you need help- with school, with anything, you’ll talk to me, alright? I know I’m not always the best listener-“ she stares down at her hands, cheeks tinged red. “But don’t feel like you have to do any of this alone.”   
  
Davey smiles, wiping away the wetness from under his eyes. “Promise. Now c’mon, let’s go help set the table.”  
  
_(Maybe he’s not entirely okay, maybe his doubt isn’t completely gone, but Katherine believes in him, so maybe, just maybe, he can believe in himself too.)_

**Author's Note:**

> the first english edition of les mis was available in new york in 1862, and if you don't think that davey read it, you're wrong


End file.
